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I'm sure this has been discussed here before but I didn't see the topic in a thread title. We hire 20-30 people every month, and this month we had 3 people out of 21 terminated during orientation for failing their drug tests. It just made me wonder, did they really want a job? I don't think so.
Our website says we have a pre-employment physical with drug screening. Candidates are told that when they come for a first interview. They are told again if they come for a second interview. If they get through the second interview and we want them, they are sent for the physical. Depending on the timing, they might come in to start orientation before the test results come in. Usually we get the results before the start of orientation. But his month, unfortunately, the results came in during the first day of training. Then these 3 jokers had to be escorted out of training. At least two had the decency to look ashamed. One looked indifferent.
From the time they apply, unfortunately, it could take 3 weeks minimum before they start orientation. It usually takes longer, several weeks, to get through the two interviews the background checks, etc.
So if you want a job, just, like, stop using drugs for a month or so, okay? Most drugs are out of your system much quicker. But only maybe cannabis, PCP and methadone can take up to 30 days, and only if you are a really heavy user. So if these people had actually stopped smoking pot the day they sent in their resume, they would probably have passed the drug tests (this month all 3 were + for cannabis, other months we see cocaine, amphetamines, and opiates.)
Testing positive for illicit drugs should never be a surprise. You KNOW when you're gonna come up positive. Maybe once in a blue moon someone gets "slipped" a drug, or they fall victim to the old poppy seed bagel thing, but really, you KNOW when you've used drugs. There are lots of exceptions that are allowed, like if you can prove you have a prescription for an amphetamine for ADHD, or an opiate for pain, and now even for bona fide medical marijuana in some states. But that isn't the case with the job candidates we get who test positive.
So what are people thinking? Is applying for jobs and going to interviews just a form of "fun" when you know you aren't going to get the job? Don't they screen people on Unemployment for drugs? Maybe they don't, and it's just easier to keep smoking weed and not work?
I know this isn't true of the majority of unemployed people, and this should probably anger people on unemployment more than it angers me, since it adds to the stereotype of people on unemployment being lazy. It should also tick off the unemployed, because these people took up the interview slots that you didn't get.
I just don't get what these people were thinking. Maybe they tried all those tricks to beat the test (which never seem to work), but I still think it would have been easier and wiser to just not smoke weed for a month.
Now we have 3 additional open positions that have to be filled again, which means time and expense for recruiting, interviewing, background checking, physical exams and drug testing, all over again. These people cost us all money. I sort of wish they'd just stay home and not apply for jobs. I mean really, what's the point?
I think that people with substance abuse problems often don't do things that make sense -- such as refraining from drug use during the application process. Some can't stop for any reason and that's what these drug tests are designed to catch--thankfully.
What field do you hire in that brings in that number of people per month out of curiosity? The higher turnover jobs and/or those with low pay tend to attract the irresponsible types a little more.
We are a human services/ behavioral health provider. We mostly hire people to be residential counselors for adults with mental illness or developmental disabilities. We have what looks like high turnover, but compare with nation-wide benchmarks in our field, our turnover rate is below average. Our entry-level pay rate is competitive, and beats that of other providers in our state and the state next door.
Yes, I understand that there are some who are truly addicted to drugs, but I believe these are mostly recreational users. And if it's marijuana, it's very unlikely there's a physical dependency, just a psychological dependence. I see the claims that it can create physical dependence, but I've read nothing that's held up under the scrutiny of sound research methods. But if a person is in the grips of addiction, maybe they should not be so focused on applying for jobs that clearly require drug tests.
I know someone that failed for cannibis and was hired because he has a medical marijuana card for cancer. HR gave him an exception.
Also I could very well see how a candidate whom has been applying for some time to different jobs would rationlize that you probably weren't going to hire them anyway so why stop for 30 days. With that logic you might as well say stop for 1 year since they have probably been out of work for some time and haven't found a job.
Not sure what you mean about our hiring process being too stringent, and how this adds to the problem. We are licensed by state agencies, and have pretty strict hiring criteria, but not over-the-top strict. Especially not for the entry level positions.
We're talking a 4 year degree in the field, 4 years experience, OR a combination of education + experience equalling at leat 4 years. This is not our rule, but the State's. They have to pass background checks with include driver's abstract, criminal hx and exclusions, and they can't have a history or abusing children, elders, or the disabled. They have to do reasonably well in two interviews, first with the Director, then with the site manager who would be supervising them. They need to answer some questions about handling difficult behavior, handling client medicaitons, what they know about mental illness, and their work habits. They don't really even have to be stellar interviews--in reality, they just have to not say something terrible, be on time, and not answer cell phone calls during the interview, and give reasonably okay answers. They have to have a basic understanding of English, but we hire MANY people for whom English is not their first language. Besides that, they need a high school diploma (if they are doing the experience route and not the degree route) and a pulse.
Not sure how these strict criteria are causing us to get more drug abusers.
Like I said, there's something wrong with a company's hiring process if, out of 15 to 25 million unemployed people they can't attract many people who can pass these tests.
We are a human services/ behavioral health provider. We mostly hire people to be residential counselors for adults with mental illness or developmental disabilities. We have what looks like high turnover, but compare with nation-wide benchmarks in our field, our turnover rate is below average. Our entry-level pay rate is competitive, and beats that of other providers in our state and the state next door.
Yes, I understand that there are some who are truly addicted to drugs, but I believe these are mostly recreational users. And if it's marijuana, it's very unlikely there's a physical dependency, just a psychological dependence. I see the claims that it can create physical dependence, but I've read nothing that's held up under the scrutiny of sound research methods. But if a person is in the grips of addiction, maybe they should not be so focused on applying for jobs that clearly require drug tests.
The line of work your company does is very high stress and high stress jobs lead some to cope or self medicate with alcohol/drugs. I worked with developed disabled adults for 2 weeks before I quit. This was in 94 after I graduated with a degree in sociology. In that 2 weeks I was physically assaulted atleast 7 times, one time a "client" decked me out of nowhere and almost knocked my front teeth out. This was for a whopping $6 an hour.
For that much, look at any high stress industry and I bet you will find plenty of people that are addicts.
When I was unemployed last year I filled out the online application form for a national employment agency. As I went thro the seemingly endless questions I started laughing hysterically. I was actually being asked to respond to a multiple-answer questionnaire that included items like:
How many times a week is it okay to use drugs?
When is it okay to hit a co-worker?
What level of drug use is okay for the office? And so on.
All I could think was what on earth had happened in the past that made this questionnaire necessary for filtering their applicants?!
When I was unemployed last year I filled out the online application form for a national employment agency. As I went thro the seemingly endless questions I started laughing hysterically. I was actually being asked to respond to a multiple-answer questionnaire that included items like:
How many times a week is it okay to use drugs?
When is it okay to hit a co-worker?
What level of drug use is okay for the office? And so on.
All I could think was what on earth had happened in the past that made this questionnaire necessary for filtering their applicants?!
I know of another company that has a long assessment just to get an idea of what employee may or may not do drugs. They tend to gauge someone's drug use, or approval of drug use, by asking a whole bunch of trick questions throughout the assessment.
I imagine that would help in eliminating some of the potential drug users.
If all of the people who you ultimately want to hire do drugs or EVERYONE in the industry does drugs, you need to be flexible on the minimum work qualifications or adjust your requirements for drug use altogether.
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